WDW Weekend Eats

With the opening of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival just days away, let’s whet your appetite with a very quick look at some other eats from around the World…

If you’ve checked out the last three “Odds & Ends” posts (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot), you know Miss Bonnie & I made a trip to the World recently, and yes, we also had some things to eat…

“Spider Roll” from the Cabana Bar and Beach Club

We started off the weekend, along with Mama Ginny and Papa Harry, by having a casual dinner at the Cabana Bar and Beach Club.  This location is actually the pool bar/restaurant at the Swan and Dolphin Resort.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad

Bonnie and I shared the “Spider Roll” to start – unlike a traditional sushi roll, this was actually a cylinder of rice that was then topped with the usual suspects: fried soft shell crab, avocado, etc., and served with a ginger sauce. Maybe not as easy to eat as a regular roll, but  the flavor was good, and it was a unique and attractive presentation.

Chilled Roasted Pepper Soup

Bonnie had the salad of ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella while I chose the combo of a Pork Banh Mi Sandwich with Chilled Roasted Pepper Soup.

Braised Pork Banh Mi

Bonnie cleaned her plate, and I liked both the sandwich and soup (especially the latter), and at $10 for the combo I thought it was quite a good deal.

Buttermilk Battered Chicken Crisps

Mama Ginny went for the fried chicken crisps, which came with some decent waffle fries, while Papa Harry had the Crab Salad…

Crab Salad

with compressed watermelon topped with big pieces of lump crab with a lemon vinaigrette.

We all enjoyed our meals, and agreed we’d gladly return. This is a place that definitely falls under the radar of most Disney guests, and I probably never would have found it except for the fact that they have always had some interesting dishes served at the Swan/Dolphin Food & Wine Classic.

This is a casual yet upscale place, with many unique dishes and cocktails, but you can certainly get a standard burger and a Bud if that’s your want… if you’re in the Boardwalk area it’s certainly worth a try… you can check out the Cabana Menu here.

Now let’s venture inside a park…

over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom this kiosk sits along the path between Africa and Asia, it once served sauced fried chicken pieces, but for now at least, it’s the default location for quick service veggie food.

We tried the samosas…

Samosas with Mango Salsa

a traditional Indian fried snack filled with potatoes and peas.

Inside the samosa…

The filling could have been a bit more aggressively seasoned, but the sweet and just-so-slightly spicy salsa added some extra flavor.

We also tried the cold Asian Noodle Salad.

Asian Noodle Salad

We both really liked this combo of toothsome noodles with lots of broccoli and snow peas with a sesame dressing.

After some semi-healthy eats at AK, let’s go to the semi-unhealthy in Epcot…

Sommerfest

The Sommerfest quick-service locale in Germany recently underwent a menu renovation and we went to check out a couple of the new items.

Sommerfest Menu

Formerly just a brat & weenie joint, now there is much more variety, and lots of fine adult beverages including the grapefruit beer that was uber popular at the Food & Wine Festival last year!

Nudel Gratin (left) and Currywurst

We sampled the Nudel Gratin (basically a German Mac & Cheese), which Bonnie loved, and at $3.49 it’s a good deal.

Currywurst with Paprika Chips

I really liked the sausage doused in the mild curry-flavored sauce. The freshly-made potato chips were really good – we’ve seen lots of these on property over the past couple of years, and that’s a Good Thing… (channeling my Inner Martha there…).

While at Epcot we grabbed a couple of things to take back to out Beach Club room for later…

Cheese Plate from Boulangerie Patisserie

Bonnie is a cheese-fiend and loves to grab the Fromages, along with a baguette or two, from Boulangerie Patisserie in France. Of course you need something sweet to follow…

Peanut Butter Brownie

so we picked up the highly-recommend Peanut Butter Brownie from the new Starbucks location… and the recommendations were right… Bonnie even tried to convince me I didn’t want to finish my share, but I had none of that!

All-in-all some tasty, new and fun eats! Hope you enjoyed!

We’ll be at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in just a  few short days… will we see you there???